OAN’s Cameron Breckenridge
5:23 PM –Monday, May 27, 2024
Deadly storms tore through parts of the central and southern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least 21 people and destroying buildings along the way.
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The storms have claimed the lives of residents in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Kentucky.
On Sunday, Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) announced that 106 of the 254 counties in the Lone Star State were under a disaster declaration following the deadly storms. He stated that seven people were killed and 100 more were left injured from the severe weather.
Abbott also stated that more than 200 homes and other buildings were destroyed. Currently, thousands of people in the state are without power.
“When we got here today there’s about 38,000 people still without power right now,” Abbott said. “Oncor is the major power provider to most of those folks, and they’re working around the clock as we speak right now to try to get them back online.”
Abbott urged residents with storm damage to their homes to reach out to their insurers as soon as possible.
Reports say more than 600,000 people across 12 states were left without power on Monday morning, including 170,000 people in Kentucky alone.
On Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) confirmed that at least five people died as a result of the strong storms that hit the state on Sunday.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-Ark.) also declared a state of emergency.
She signed an executive order on Sunday, authorizing $250,000 in funds to be used by the state’s emergency management division.
She said that despite the circumstances, Arkansans are coming together to rebuild their community.
Forecasters are predicting that the severe weather will make its way to the east coast. They are asking those outdoors to keep their eye on the sky.
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